


never be good enough

by percyyoulittleshit



Series: Missing Scenes [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Me? Writing Angst? Is more likely than you think, Missing Scene, Pre-stablished couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23798482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyyoulittleshit/pseuds/percyyoulittleshit
Summary: "Last year, Luke came to see me in San Francisco.""In person?" I felt like she'd just hit me with a hammer. "He came toyour house?""This was before we went into the Labyrinth, before . . ."-The Last OlympianMy take on this missing scene and why seeing Rachel and Percy together affected Annabeth that much.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Kinda? Is pre The Battle of The labyrinth so they are getting there.
Series: Missing Scenes [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714480
Comments: 7
Kudos: 114





	never be good enough

**Author's Note:**

> Technically Percy and Annabeth are not together yet, BUT IS THE SUBTEXT OKAY? And it felt weird not tagging them. Sorry.

When Annabeth opened the front door, the last thing she had expected was to see Luke Castellan standing on her porch. She knew he hadn’t died, that Thalia hadn’t killed him last December, but the person in front of her looked terrible. It was a version of Luke she had never seen before, his eyes were wild, his hair a mess, his skin looked pale, and the shadows under his eyes looked so purple they could have been bruises for all she knew. But what shocked Annabeth the most was how  _ scared _ he looked.

“Luke,” she said breathlessly. She was shocked from seeing him, confused by how he had managed to survive that fall, and concerned by his wild look. “What? How? When did-”

“Annabeth,” Luke said, voice filled with relief. “I need to talk to you.”

There was no harshness in his voice, and if Annabeth closed her eyes she could picture him next to her picking strawberries, but those times were gone. The man in front of her was not the same boy from her memories. This was the person who wanted to bring Kronos back, who had tricked her into holding the sky, and who kept trying to kill her best friend over and over. She should be grabbing her knife and attacking him and yet she found herself frozen in place, those sad, worried blue eyes making her hesitate. Luke took her silence as an invitation to keep talking.

“Five minutes Annabeth, I promise you this is not a trick, just give me five minutes.”

He said he promised, but were his promises still valid? He had promised they would be a family long ago and had left her without looking back. 

“Why should I trust you?”

“Because you’re my only hope.” Luke took a step closer to her but she raised her arm making him stay where he was.

“What do you want Luke?”

“Run away with me,” Luke said and Annabeth’s world shook beneath her.

“What?”

“Kronos is going to use me and he will destroy this world. He’s too powerful, he will succeed Annabeth.” He looked at her, his face full of desperation. “But we can stop him, if I, no,  _ we  _ run away. Just like the old times, you and me versus the world.” 

For a second Annabeth was tempted to accept his offer. He was Luke, the guy who laughed with her and protected her, who gave her a knife and taught her to use it, who held her hand when she was scared, and her only ally at camp when they first arrived grieving Thalia. But a voice in her head was telling her it was a trick, that he had changed for the worse. He had already used her once, what guarantee did she have that he wasn’t going to do it again?

“No.” Her voice was shaky but there was no hesitation in it. “No way Luke.”

“This is my last chance Annabeth.” The old Luke had never raised his voice at her but this Luke was yelling at her. Anger and desperation were erupting from him. “Help me, please, and if you won’t help me then just fucking fight me here. After Kronos does what he wants to do with me you will never get another chance.”

“We can go to Camp Luke,” Annabeth said slowly, her brain trying to find alternatives, still trying to find a way to help him. “Chiron will know what to do, Percy-”

“ _ Percy _ ,” Luke spat. “You know he’s going to leave you, right?” 

The softness and desperation in his voice were gone, instead, it was filled with hate and anger, the pleading warm, blue eyes were gone, and cold, icy, calculating ones had taken their place. Annabeth unconsciously took a step back and Luke barked a cruel laugh at her. “But then, what's new? Everybody leaves you, don’t they? Your mom, your father, Thalia…. _ me _ . How long until Percy joins the list?”

“He won’t.”

Luke smiled at her, that twisted smile that she didn’t recognize, that made her heart ache. “There’s a reason why we all leave you and he will find that reason soon enough.”

“Leave,” Annabeth said quietly, her voice trembling, from anger or from hurt, she wasn’t sure. Instead of listening to her, Luke just cocked his head to the side, looking at her with a mocking crooked smile. That look made something in Annabeth snap and she found herself yelling at him. “Leave! For fuck’s sake, fucking leave and never come back!” 

The sound of doors and windows opening around them made Luke clench his jaw. Neighbors were starting to come out of their houses, some had phones in their hands ready to call the police. 

“This is your last chance Annabeth.” His voice was filled with anger but his eyes were desperate, pleading her to take his offer. For a second Annabeth was tempted to accept it, to close the door behind her and run and do everything she could to save him. He was Luke after all, the one who had saved her and took care of her when she was all alone, who would hold her when she was little and crying about missing Thalia. But he was also Luke, who had tricked her into holding the weight of the sky, who had betrayed her and poisoned Thalia’s tree, who had tried to kill Percy on more than one occasion. With a restraint she didn’t know she had in her she didn’t move a single muscle. When Luke finally realized she wasn’t going to move, he snarled at her. “Fine, but remember the prophecy, Annabeth, Jackson is a dead man walking.” His voice was filled with poison and before she could react he was already walking away. “You will regret this Annabeth Chase.”

By the time Annabeth found the strength to move, Luke was nowhere to be seen. In a dizzy state she waved to her neighbors, letting them know she was okay. But she wasn’t really, her brain was overworking and it was too much, the moment she closed the front door she fell to the floor and broke down.

***

When Annabeth had planned the day in her head the scenario had gone quite different. Popcorn, cold drinks, maybe a walk in central park. If she was feeling bold enough maybe some hand-holding and a shared milkshake at Junior’s, full of blushing and maybe some bold flirting from her side, and maybe, with their luck, one monster interruption. But what Annabeth hadn’t planned on was Percy blowing up his new school, running away followed by a  _ girl _ , having said girl write her number on his hand, and two hours of a very awkward and silent car ride.

She knew her reaction was a little bit dramatic and filled with jealousy and she maybe should apologize. She turned to look at Percy, ready to break the silence but he was looking at his arm, where  _ Rachel _ had written her number in pretty numbers, and there was a far away look in his eyes that made Annabeth’s chest tighten painfully. She turned to look out the window instead, trying to stop herself from crying, when she heard  _ his _ voice in her thoughts.

  
_ ‘Tik Tok Annabeth’, _ Luke’s cruel voice laughed in her head. _ ‘How long until Percy joins the list?’. _


End file.
